The present invention relates to novel articles that can be used to balance tires, which articles can be firmly attached to a wheel surface and later removed without damaging the wheel surface or leaving adhesive or other tape residue thereon.
A number of wheel weight attachment systems have been proposed and used to improve the balance of a rotating wheel having a conventionally pneumatic tire mounted thereon. The wheel weight is typically attached to the rim flange. Such a circumferentially extending weight is selectively placed on the rim at a location generally corresponding to the radial location indicated by the tire balancer.
Disadvantages exist with respect to known attachment techniques, most of them associated with the prospect of removal when readjustments are later needed. The use of clip weights results in the contact of two dissimilar metals (that is the clip and the wheel). In severe winter and salt driving conditions the potential for corrosion exists. Clip weights can also potentially damage wheels by inflicting scratches thereon These scratches can become noticeable upon removal or relocation of the wheel weight.
The use of foam tape to attach wheel weights to a wheel is also disadvantageous in that the foam tape can split apart at the backing and leave adhesive and backing residue on the wheel surface upon removal. The residue is unsightly and can become even more unsightly as the residue picks up dust, dirt, etc. In addition, the wheel substrate can potentially be damaged by the process of removing these residues (via brushes, blades, solvents, for example).
JP 58152612 A uses an adhesive to attach a two part weight system wherein the one upper layer is a relatively high molecular weight rubber and the lower rubber layer is a low tensile strength material that facilitates removal of the weight balancing composite. These are recommended for aircraft wheels but also can apply to other transportation wheels.
WO 93/17315 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,451 suggest other methods of avoiding the problem of wheel weight removal.
WO 93/17315 discloses a device for attaching a balancing weight to the wheel of a vehicle. According to the reference, in order to create a device for mechanically attaching a balancing weight consisting of weight and a retaining spring to the wheel of a vehicle, the retaining spring being inserted between the tire and the rim flange and the device being provided with a detachable mounting system to accommodate the retaining spring, said system enabling mechanical mounting of a balancing weight on a vehicle weight, it is proposed that the device should comprise a shock or percussion unit mounted behind the detachable mounting system which when actuated pushes the balancing weight out of the mounting system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,451 discloses a balancing system for a wheel having a tire mounted on the rim thereof which consists of at least one and as many as three balancing components including rim mounted weights, an annular member including a balancing medium positioned within the rim, and a shock absorber between the wheel and brake drum. The weights are relatively narrow in width and elongated in length and are mounted on the rim to extends predominantly radially of the tire sidewall rather than circumferentially. The annular member is suspended from the tire within the radially outer portion of the air cavity of the tire and during rotation of the tire automatically corrects for imbalance by circumferential migration of the balancing medium and/or annular member to the area of imbalance and/or by radial displacement of the annular member.
International Publication No. WO 00/06495, entitled xe2x80x9cWHEEL WEIGHT ATTACHMENT SYSTEMxe2x80x9d discloses a wheel weight attachment system which does not leave an adhesive residue or other tape residue upon removal. A wheel weight is attached to a wheel via a double-sided adhesive tape. The wheel weight is removed by prying lifting the wheel weight with a tool such as pliers. The tape remains adhered to the wheel weight as it debonds from the wheel.
The present invention provides an easily removable, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape/wheel weight article. The article of the invention comprises:
(a) a stretchable tape, wherein the tape has a first major surface and a second opposing major surface; and
(b) a weight bonded to the first major surface of the tape,
wherein said tape is capable of being firmly bonded to a wheel via the second major surface of the tape and further being capable of being removed from the wheel and the weight after being stretched at an angle no greater than about 35 degrees from the surface of the wheel, wherein a tab extends from the tape from at least one end, wherein said tab is capable of being gripped in a manner to stretch the tape at an angle no greater than 35xc2x0 from the surface of the wheel,
wherein the cohesive strength of the tape is greater than its adhesive strength to the wheel weight and the wheel.
The present invention provides an easily removable, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape/wheel weight/bracket article. The article of the invention comprises:
(a) a stretchable tape, wherein the tape has a first major surface and a second opposing major surface; and
(b) a bracket bonded to the first major surface of the tape; and
(c) a weight interlocked into the bracket, wherein the weight is not directly bonded to the tape;
wherein said tape is capable of being firmly bonded to a wheel via the second major surface of the tape and further being capable of being removed from the bracket after being stretched at an angle no greater than about 35 degrees from the surface of the wheel, wherein a tab extends from the tape from at least one end, wherein the weight extends over the tab, wherein the weight is capable of being subsequently removed from the bracket to expose the tab, wherein said tab is capable upon removal of the weight of being gripped in a manner to stretch the tape at an angle no greater than 35xc2x0 from the surface of the wheel,
wherein the cohesive strength of the tape is greater than its adhesive strength to the bracket and the wheel.
The present invention provides an easily removable, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape/bracket/wheel weight article. The article of the invention comprises:
(a) a stretchable tape, wherein the tape has a first major surface and a second opposing major surface; and
(b) a bracket bonded to the first major surface of the tape; and
(c) a weight interlocked into the bracket, wherein the weight is not directly bonded to the tape; wherein
wherein said tape is capable of being firmly bonded to a wheel via the second major surface of the tape and further being capable of being removed from the bracket after being stretched at an angle no greater than about 35 degrees from the surface of the wheel, wherein a tab extends from the tape from at least one end, wherein the weight extends over the tab, wherein the weight is capable of being subsequently removed from the bracket to expose the tab, wherein said tab is capable upon removal of the weight of being gripped in a manner to stretch the tape at an angle no greater than 35xc2x0 from the surface of the wheel,
wherein the cohesive strength of the tape is greater than its adhesive strength to the bracket and the wheel.
An example of a useful tape having a plastic backing is a tape comprising a highly extensible, substantially non-recoverable backing, bearing on at least a portion of both major surfaces thereof a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive, said tape being capable of being firmly bonded to both a wheel weight (or bracket) and a wheel and being further capable of being removed therefrom after only being stretched at an angle no greater than about 35 degrees from the surface of the wheel.
When the tape comprises a backing with adhesive layers on either side the adhesive layers should be selected such that they do not separate from the backing when the backing is subjected to stretching. The adhesive layer(s) is also preferably highly extensible for tapes that comprise a single layer of adhesive and for tapes that comprise a backing with adhesive coated on either side.
The article of the invention can be firmly bonded to a wheel and can then be removed by simply stretching the tape in a direction up to an angle of about 35 degrees from the surface of the wheel, preferably up to about 30 degrees, more preferably up to about 10 degrees without leaving traces of adhesive residue, backing residue, or other tape residue on the wheel surface and without imparting any perceptible damage to the surface of the wheel.
Depending on the specific embodiment the adhesive of each layer of a tape having a backing and two adhesive layers can be of equivalent or different chemical composition, of equivalent or different adhesion properties, of equivalent or different thickness, and coated or laminated in the same or different manner.
The present invention also relates to a method of balancing a wheel utilizing the wheel weight/tape article of the invention. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of:
(a) providing an article comprising:
(i) a stretchable tape, wherein the tape has a first major surface and a second opposing major surface; and
(ii) a weight bonded to the first major surface of the tape;
wherein said tape is capable of being firmly bonded to a wheel via the second major surface of the tape and further being capable of being removed from the wheel and the weight after being stretched at an angle no greater than about 35 degrees from the surface of the wheel, wherein a tab extends from the tape from at least one end, wherein said tab is capable of being gripped in a manner to stretch the tape at an angle no greater than 35xc2x0 from the surface of the wheel,
wherein the cohesive strength of the tape is greater than its adhesive strength to the wheel weight and the wheel; and
(b) applying the article to a wheel via the adhesive on the second major surface of the article.
The method may optionally further comprise the step (c) of subsequently removing the tape from the wheel and the weight by grasping the tab and stretching the tape at an angle no greater than about 35xc2x0 from the surface of the wheel in order to remove the tape from the wheel and the weight, wherein no or substantially no pressure sensitive adhesive from the article remains on the wheel.
The present invention also relates to a method of balancing a wheel utilizing the wheel weight/bracket/weight article of the invention. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of:
(a) providing an article comprising
(i) a stretchable tape, wherein the tape has a first major surface and a second opposing major surface; and
(ii) a bracket bonded to the first major surface of the tape; and
(iii) a weight interlocked into the bracket, wherein the weight is not directly bonded to the tape;
wherein said tape is capable of being firmly bonded to a wheel via the second major surface of the tape and further being capable of being removed from the bracket after being stretched at an angle no greater than about 35 degrees from the surface of the wheel, wherein a tab extends from the tape from at least one end, wherein the weight extends over the tab, wherein the weight is capable of being subsequently removed from the bracket to expose the tab, wherein said tab is capable upon removal of the weight of being gripped in a manner to stretch the tape at an angle no greater than 35xc2x0 from the surface of the wheel,
wherein the cohesive strength of the tape is greater than its adhesive strength to the bracket and the wheel; and
(b) applying the article to a wheel via the adhesive on the second major surface of the article.
The above method optionally further comprises the step (c) of subsequently removing the tape from the wheel and the bracket by grasping the tab and stretching the tape at an angle no greater than about 35xc2x0 from the surface of the wheel in order to remove the tape from the wheel and the bracket, wherein no or substantially no pressure sensitive adhesive from the article remains on the wheel.
The above method optionally further comprises the step (c) of subsequently removing the tape from the wheel and the bracket by grasping the tab and stretching the tape at an angle no greater than about 35xc2x0 from the surface of the wheel in order to remove the tape from the wheel and the bracket, wherein no pressure sensitive adhesive from the article remains on the wheel.
The present invention also relates to a method of balancing a wheel utilizing the tape/weight/bracket article of the invention. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of:
(a) providing an article comprising
(i) a stretchable tape, wherein the tape has a first major surface and a second opposing major surface; and
(ii) a weight bonded to the first major surface of the tape; and
(iii) a bracket interlocked into the weight, wherein the bracket is not directly bonded to the tape;
wherein said tape is capable of being firmly bonded to a wheel via the second major surface of the tape and further being capable of being removed from the wheel and the weight after being stretched at an angle no greater than about 35 degrees from the surface of the wheel, wherein a tab extends from the tape from at least one end, wherein the bracket extends over the tab, wherein the bracket is capable of being subsequently removed from the weight to expose the tab, wherein said tab is capable upon removal of the bracket of being gripped in a manner to stretch the tape at an angle no greater than 35xc2x0 from the surface of the wheel,
wherein the cohesive strength of the tape is greater than its adhesive strength to the weight and the wheel; and
(b) applying the article to a wheel via the adhesive on the second major surface of the article.
The above method optionally further comprises the step (c) of subsequently removing the tape from the wheel and the weight by grasping the tab and stretching the tape at an angle no greater than about 35xc2x0 from the surface of the wheel in order to remove the tape from the wheel and the weight, wherein no or substantially no pressure sensitive adhesive from the article remains on the wheel.
The above method optionally further comprises the step (c) of subsequently removing the tape from the wheel and the weight by grasping the tab and stretching the tape at an angle no greater than about 35xc2x0 from the surface of the wheel in order to remove the tape from the wheel and the weight, wherein no pressure sensitive adhesive from the article remains on the wheel.
After being applied to a wheel, the adhesive tape becomes firmly bonded to the wheel, but can be easily removed without damaging the wheel surface by simply stretching it in the direction substantially parallel to the surface of the wheel.
The present invention is advantageous in that it provides an article capable of balancing wheels with no scratching (as a result of application and removal of the wheel weight(s)) and little or no, most typically no, adhesive residue upon removal.
The present invention is also advantageous in that it provides an article capable of balancing wheels with little or no, most typically no, adhesive residue left on the weight upon removal of the article from the wheel (when the weight is adhered to the tape). This allows for ready recycling of the weight, which is especially beneficial when the weight is a material such as lead. For example, one can readily form another wheel weight/tape article from the previously used weight and apply it to another wheel to be balanced. Conventional tapes, on the other hand, leave adhesive and tape residue on the weight which is problematic from a reuse standpoint.
The present invention is also advantageous in that it provides an article capable of balancing wheels little or no, most typically no, adhesive residue upon removal on the bracket, when the bracket is adhered to the tape.